Consultancy for the Design and Pilot of a Community Conservation Leadership Program
Mozambique Country office, Regenerative Seascape for People, Climate and Nature
Project, Coastal and Ocean Resilience Programme
RfP Reference: IUCN-26-03-P04216-2
Welcome to this Procurement by IUCN. You are hereby invited to submit a Proposal. Please read the information and instructions carefully because non compliance with the instructions may result in disqualification of your Proposal from this Procurement.
1. REQUIREMENTS
1.1. A detailed description of the services and/or goods to be provided can be found in Attachment 1.
2. CONTACT DETAILS
2.1. During the course of this procurement, i.e. from the publication of this RfP to the award of a contract, you may not discuss this procurement with any IUCN employee or representative other than the following contact. You must address all correspondence and questions to the contact, including your Proposal.
IUCN Contact: tenders.mz@iucn.org
3. PROCUREMENT TIMETABLE
3.1. This timetable is indicative and may be changed by IUCN at any time. If IUCN decides that changes to any of the deadlines are necessary, we will publish this on our website and contact you directly if you have indicated your interest in this procurement (see Section 3.2).
DATE-ACTIVITY
19th March 2026-Publication of the Request for Proposals
23rd March 2026-Deadline for expressions of interest
25th March 2026-Deadline for submission of questions
30th March 2026-Planned publication of responses to questions
10th April 2026-Deadline for submission of Proposals to IUCN (“Submission-Deadline”)
13th April 2026-Clarification of Proposals
13th April 2026-Interviews / site visits / presentations
23rd April 2026-Planned date for contract award
30th April 2026-Expected contract start date
3.2. Please email the IUCN contact to express your interest in submitting a Proposal by the deadline stated above. This will help IUCN to keep you updated regarding the procurement.
4. COMPLETING AND SUBMITTING A PROPOSAL
4.1. Your Proposal must consist of the following four separate documents:
Signed Declaration of Undertaking (see Attachment 2)
Pre-Qualification Information (see Section 4.3 below)
Technical Proposal (see Section 4.4 below)
Financial Proposal (see Section 4.5 below)
Proposals must be prepared in English.
4.2. Your Proposal must be submitted by email to the IUCN Contact (see Section 2). The subject heading of the email shall be [RfP Reference – bidder name]. The bidder name is the name of the company/organisation on whose behalf you are submitting the Proposal, or your own surname if you are bidding as a self-employed consultant. Your Proposal must be submitted in PDF format. You may submit multiple emails suitably annotated, e.g. Email 1 of 3, if attached files are too large to suit a single email transmission. You may not submit your Proposal by uploading it to a file-sharing tool.
IMPORTANT: Submitted documents must be password-protected so that they cannot be opened and read before the submission deadline. Please use the same password for all submitted documents. After the deadline has passed and within 12 hours, please send the password to the IUCN Contact. This will ensure a secure bid submission and opening process.
Please DO NOT email the password before the deadline for Proposal submission.
4.3. Pre-Qualification Criteria
IUCN will use the following Pre-Qualification Criteria to determine whether you have the capacity to provide the required goods and/or services to IUCN. Please provide the necessary information in a single, separate document.
Pre-Qualification Criteria
1. 3 relevant references of clients similar to IUCN / similar work
2.Confirm that you have all the necessary legal registrations to perform the work
3.State your annual turnover for each of the past 3 years
4.How many employees does your organisation have who are qualified for this work?
4.4. Technical Proposal
The Technical Proposal must address each of the criteria stated below explicitly and separately, quoting the relevant criteria reference number (left-hand column).
Proposals in any other format will significantly increase the time it takes to evaluate, and such Proposals may therefore be rejected at IUCN’s discretion.
Where CVs are requested, these must be of the individuals who will actually carry out the work specified. The individuals you put forward may only be substituted with IUCN’s approval.
IUCN will evaluate Technical Proposals with regards to each of the following criteria and their relative importance:
Description-Relative weight
1. Concept and methodology 65
1.1 Clarity and completeness of the tender-20
• Technical understanding of what a Capacity Needs Assessment entails, and detailed description of consultant’s understanding of the assignment
1.2 Proposed approach and methods, including workplan-45
• Detailed description on methodology to be used, target population and broader understanding of the seascape (30)
• Detailed activity plan (10)
2 Qualifications and Experience of proposed consultants [If applicable add separate sub-criteria of specialisms required]-20
2.1 Team leader/portfolio manager-15
• Advanced degree in economics, development studies, environmental sciences, social sciences or related discipline (10)
• 10 years of work experience (5)
2.2 Qualification and experience by other key staff (if applicable) to be involved in the assignment-5
3 Track record-15
3.1 Quality and relevance of references provided (Provide at least 3 references)-10
3.2 Proven history of meeting deadlines-5
TOTAL 100
4.5. Financial Proposal
4.5.1. The Financial Proposal must be a fixed and firm price for the provision of the goods/services stated in the RfP in their entirety.
4.5.2. Prices include all costs
Submitted rates and prices are deemed to include all costs, insurances, taxes (except VAT, see below), fees, expenses, liabilities, obligations, risk and other things necessary for the performance of the Terms of Reference or Specification of Requirements. IUCN will not accept charges beyond those clearly stated in the Financial Proposal. This includes applicable withholding taxes and similar. It is your responsibility to determine whether such taxes apply to your organisation and to include them in your Financial Proposal.
4.5.3. Applicable Goods and Services Taxes
Proposal rates and prices shall be exclusive of Value Added Tax.
4.5.4. Currency of proposed rates and prices
All rates and prices submitted by Proposers shall be in USD.
4.5.5. Breakdown of rates and prices
For information only, the price needs to be broken down as follows:
Description-Quantity-Unit Price-Total Price
1 Detailed breakdown of professional
fees
2 Logistical costs
TOTAL
4.6. Additional information not requested by IUCN should not be included in your Proposal and will not be considered in the evaluation.
4.7. Your Proposal must remain valid and capable of acceptance by IUCN for a period of 90 calendar days following the submission deadline.
4.8. Withdrawals and Changes
You may freely withdraw or change your Proposal at any time prior to the submission deadline by written notice to the IUCN Contact. However, in order to reduce the risk of fraud, no changes or withdrawals will be accepted after the submission deadline.
5. EVALUATION OF PROPOSALS
5.1. Completeness
IUCN will firstly check your Proposal for completeness. Incomplete Proposals will not be considered further.
5.2. Pre-Qualification Criteria
Only Proposals that meet all of the pre-qualification criteria will be evaluated.
5.3. Technical Evaluation
5.3.1. Scoring Method
Your Proposal will be assigned a score from 0 to 10 for each of the technical evaluation criteria, such that ‘0’ is low and ‘10’ is high.
5.3.2. Minimum Quality Thresholds
Proposals that receive a score of ‘0’ for any of the criteria will not be considered further.
5.3.3. Technical Score
Your score for each technical evaluation criterion will be multiplied with the respective relative weight (see Section 4.4) and these weighted scores added together to give your Proposal’s overall technical score.
5.4. Financial Evaluation and Financial Scores
The financial evaluation will be based upon the full total price you submit. Your Financial Proposal will receive a score calculated by dividing the lowest Financial Proposal that has passed the minimum quality thresholds (see Section 5.3.2) by the total price of your Financial Proposal.
Thus, for example, if your Financial Proposal is for a total of CHF 100 and the lowest Financial Proposal is CHF 80, you will receive a financial score of 80/100 = 80%
5.5. Total Score
Your Proposal’s total score will be calculated as the weighted sum of your technical score and your financial score.
The relative weights will be:
Technical: 70%
Financial: 30%
Thus, for example, if your technical score is 83% and your financial score is 77%, you will receive a total score of 83 * 70% + 77 * 30% = 58.1% + 23.1% = 81.2%.
Subject to the requirements in Sections 4 and 7, IUCN will award the contract to the bidder whose Proposal achieves the highest total score.
6. EXPLANATION OF PROCUREMENT PROCEDURE
6.1. IUCN is using the Open Procedure for this procurement. This means that the contracting opportunity is published on IUCN’s website and open to all interested parties to take part, subject to the conditions in Section 7 below.
6.2. You are welcome to ask questions or seek clarification regarding this procurement. Please email the IUCN Contact (see Section 2), taking note of the deadline for submission of questions in Section 3.1.
6.3. All Proposals must be received by the submission deadline in Section 3.1 above. Late Proposals will not be considered. All Proposals received by the submission deadline will be evaluated by a team of evaluators in accordance with the evaluation criteria stated in this RfP.
No other criteria will be used to evaluate Proposals. The contract will be awarded to the bidder whose Proposal received the highest Total Score. IUCN does, however, reserve the right to cancel the procurement and not award a contract at all.
6.4. IUCN will contact the bidder with the highest-scoring Proposal to finalise the contract. We will contact unsuccessful bidders after the contract has been awarded and provide detailed feedback. The timetable in Section 3.1 gives an estimate of when we expect to have completed the contract award, but this date may change depending on how long the evaluation of Proposals takes.
7. CONDITIONS FOR PARTICIPATION IN THIS PROCUREMENT
7.1. To participate in this procurement, you are required to submit a Proposal, which fully complies with the instructions in this RfP and the Attachments.
7.1.1. It is your responsibility to ensure that you have submitted a complete and fully compliant Proposal.
7.1.2. Any incomplete or incorrectly completed Proposal submission may be deemed noncompliant, and as a result you may be unable to proceed further in the procurement process.
7.1.3. IUCN will query any obvious clerical errors in your Proposal and may, at IUCN’s sole discretion, allow you to correct these, but only if doing so could not be perceived as giving you an unfair advantage.
7.2. In order to participate in this procurement, you must meet the following conditions:
Free of conflicts of interest
Registered on the relevant professional or trade register of the country in which you are established (or resident, if self-employed)
In full compliance with your obligations relating to payment of social security contributions and of all applicable taxes
Not been convicted of failing to comply with environmental regulatory requirements or other legal requirements relating to sustainability and environmental protection
Not bankrupt or being wound up
Never been guilty of an offence concerning your professional conduct
Not involved in fraud, corruption, a criminal organisation, money laundering, terrorism, or any other illegal activity.
7.3. You must complete and sign the Declaration of Undertaking (see Attachment 2).
7.4. If you are participating in this procurement as a member of a joint venture, or are using subcontractors, submit a separate Declaration of Undertaking for each member of the joint venture and sub-contractor, and be clear in your Proposal which parts of the goods/services are provided by each partner or sub-contractor.
7.5. Each bidder shall submit only one Proposal, either individually or as a partner in a joint venture.
In case of joint venture, one company shall not be allowed to participate in two different joint ventures in the same procurement nor shall a company be allowed to submit a Proposal both on its behalf and as part of a joint venture for the same procurement. A bidder who submits or participates in more than one Proposal (other than as a subcontractor or in cases of alternatives that have been permitted or requested) shall cause all the Proposals with the bidder’s participation to be disqualified.
7.6. By taking part in this procurement, you accept the conditions set out in this RfP, including the following:
It is unacceptable to give or offer any gift or consideration to an employee or other representative of IUCN as a reward or inducement in relation to the awarding of a contract.
Such action will give IUCN the right to exclude you from this and any future procurements, and to terminate any contract that may have been signed with you.
Any attempt to obtain information from an employee or other representative of IUCN concerning another bidder will result in disqualification.
Any price fixing or collusion with other bidders in relation to this procurement shall give IUCN the right to exclude you and any other involved bidder(s) from this and any future procurements and may constitute a criminal offence.
8. CONFIDENTIALITY AND DATA PROTECTION
8.1. IUCN follows the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The information you submit to IUCN as part of this procurement will be treated as confidential and shared only as required to evaluate your Proposal in line with the procedure explained in this RfP, and for the maintenance of a clear audit trail. For audit purposes, IUCN is required to retain your Proposal in its entirety for 10 years after then end of the resulting contract and make this available to internal and external auditors and donors as and when requested.
8.2. In the Declaration of Undertaking (Attachment 2) you need to give IUCN express permission to use the information you submit in this way, including personal data that forms part of your Proposal. Where you include personal data of your employees (e.g. CVs) in your Proposal, you need to have written permission from those individuals to share this information with IUCN, and for IUCN to use this information as indicated in 8.1. Without these permissions, IUCN will not be able to consider your Proposal.
9. COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE
If you have a complaint or concern regarding the propriety of how a competitive process is or has been executed, then please contact procurement@iucn.org. Such complaints or concerns will be treated as confidential and are not considered in breach of the above restrictions on communication (Section 2.1).
10. CONTRACT
The contract will be based on IUCN’s template in Attachment 3, the terms of which are not negotiable. They may, however, be amended by IUCN to reflect particular requirements from the donor funding this particular procurement.
11. ABOUT IUCN
IUCN is a membership Union uniquely composed of both government and civil society organisations. It provides public, private and non-governmental organisations with the knowledge and tools that enable human progress, economic development and nature conservation to take place together.
Headquartered in Switzerland, IUCN Secretariat comprises around 1,000 staff with offices in more than 50 countries.
Created in 1948, IUCN is now the world’s largest and most diverse environmental network, harnessing the knowledge, resources and reach of more than 1,300 Member organisations and some 10,000 experts. It is a leading provider of conservation data, assessments and analysis. Its broad membership enables IUCN to fill the role of incubator and trusted repository of best practices, tools and international standards.
IUCN provides a neutral space in which diverse stakeholders including governments, NGOs, scientists, businesses, local communities, indigenous peoples organisations and others can work together to forge and implement solutions to environmental challenges and achieve sustainable development.
Working with many partners and supporters, IUCN implements a large and diverse portfolio of conservation projects worldwide. Combining the latest science with the traditional knowledge of local communities, these projects work to reverse habitat loss, restore ecosystems and improve people’s well being.
www.iucn.org
https://twitter.com/IUCN/
12. ATTACHMENTS
Attachment 1 Specification of Requirements / Terms of Reference
Attachment 2 Declaration of Undertaking (select 2a for companies or 2b for self-employed as applicable to you)
Attachment 3 Contract Template
Title: Consultancy for the Design and Pilot of a Community Conservation Leadership Program
Objective of the Consultancy
The objective of this consultancy is to design and pilot a Community Conservation Leadership Program for the districts of Vilankulo and Inhassoro, aimed at strengthening community leadership, governance capacities, gender responsive nature-based solutions, and practical skills for effective, inclusive, and climate-resilient marine and coastal conservation within the Inhambane Seascape.
Background
Project Reference: PO4216 (ReSea activities: 1111.4, 1212.2, 1212.3 and 1222.1)
Donor reference: Global Affairs Canada (GAC)
About IUCN
IUCN is a membership Union uniquely composed of both government and civil society organisations. It provides public, private and non-governmental organisations with the knowledge and tools that enable human progress, economic development and nature conservation to take place together.
Created in 1948, IUCN is now the world’s largest and most diverse environmental network, harnessing the knowledge, resources and reach of more than 1,400 Member organisations and around 15,000 experts. It is a leading provider of conservation data, assessments and analysis. Its broad membership enables IUCN to fill the role of incubator and trusted repository of best practices, tools and international standards.
IUCN provides a neutral space in which diverse stakeholders including governments, NGOs, scientists, businesses, local communities, indigenous peoples organisations and others can work together to forge and implement solutions to environmental challenges and achieve sustainable development.
Working with many partners and supporters, IUCN implements a large and diverse portfolio of conservation projects worldwide. Combining the latest science with the traditional knowledge of local communities, these projects work to reverse habitat loss, restore ecosystems and improve people’s well-being.
About the Project
Regenerative Seascape for People, Climate and Nature (ReSea) is a joint initiative of Mission Inclusion and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), implemented with local feminist organizations in Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, Madagascar, and Comoros, and funded by Global Affairs Canada (GAC) under the Partnering for Climate engagement. The project aims to strengthen the physical and socioeconomic resilience of coastal communities by promoting nature-based solutions (NbS) and gender-responsive conservation practices that protect, restore, and sustainably manage coastal ecosystems while supporting a regenerative blue economy. ReSea contributes directly to the Great Blue Wall (GBW) initiative by supporting sustainable, resilient, and inclusive seascapes in the Western Indian Ocean.
The GBW is built around three core pillars:
These three pillars are supported by Blue Partnerships, promoting innovative, intersectional collaboration. Conservation partners bring ecological and restoration expertise, while feminist organizations contribute deep knowledge of gender dynamics, inequalities, and community power structures. This partnership model ensures recognition of differentiated climate impacts, strengthens community leadership, supports the participation of women, youth, and vulnerable groups, and promotes equitable benefit-sharing.
Overall, ReSea aims to enhance local capacities to address biodiversity loss, climate change impacts, and community wellbeing across the Western Indian Ocean seascapes.
Description of the Assignment
The Consultant will support the ReSea Project in Mozambique by designing and piloting a Community Conservation Leadership Program tailored to the Inhambane Seascape, with a strong focus on Vilankulo and Inhassoro Districts. This assignment aims to strengthen local leadership, technical capacity, digital literacy, gender‑responsive Nature‑based Solutions (NbS) competencies, and inclusive, gender‑responsive conservation practices among community institutions and partner organizations involved in marine and coastal management.
A central requirement of this consultancy is that the Community Conservation Leadership Program must integrate and build upon the ReSea Capacity Needs Assessment already completed, as well as the LMMA Curriculum Booklets used in the Western Indian Ocean (WIO) Region. These materials designed to guide the establishment, governance, monitoring, and adaptive management of LMMAs will serve as the primary references for developing training modules, leadership content, and community facilitation approaches.
The training theorical part should be conducted at, the Community Training Center facility, using its space and infrastructure to support learning sessions, group exercises, practical demonstrations, and follow-up mentorship activities.
Working collaboratively with IUCN, Muleide, district authorities, Communiy Fishing Counclis (CCPs), Community based organizations (CBOs), women’s groups, and youth-led initiatives, the Consultant will carry out the following tasks:
Use the ReSea Capacity Needs Assessment, the LMMA Curriculum Booklets from the Western Indian Ocean (WIO) region, and other relevant technical materials to design and deliver a tailored, community‑driven Community Conservation Leadership Program adapted to the ecological, social, and governance contexts of Vilankulo and Inhassoro for participants and to train the trainers.
The program will include specialized training modules, including but not limited to:
Duration of the Assignment
From 30th April 2026 to 30th November 2026
Deliverables and Activities
The consultant will provide the following deliverables and carry out the following activities:
Deliverable/Activity-Description-Deadline
1. Deliverable: Inception report-20th May 2026
Inception report detailing methodology, workplan, data collection strategy, and consultation schedule.
2. Deliverable: Draft Leadership Program curriculum and training materials for both participants and trainers-30th June 2026
Draft design of the Community Conservation Leadership Program, including structure, module outline, learning objectives, delivery approach, and proposed facilitation methodologies.
3. Deliverable: Report on the Pilot Training sessions-15th August 2026
Delivery of pilot training sessions with selected communities in Vilankulo and Inhassoro, including agendas, participant lists, session reports, participant feedback forms and documentation of training processes. Include 1 day to train a small group of trainers
4. Deliverable: Final Community Conservation Leadership Program Package-20th November 2026
Finalized and refined Leadership Program package, including updated curriculum and training materials, trainer guides, learning tools, templates, and materials fully ready for replication across the Inhambane Seascape.
5. Deliverable: Final technical report-30th November 2026
Consolidated final technical report, including visual materials, and documentation that summarize the program design, training process, findings, and key outcomes for internal and external dissemination.
Payment Schedule
The Timetable below summarises the chronological order of deliverables and indicates milestones at which IUCN will pay the Consultant.
Deliverable-Milestone payment
Approval of inception report and detailed action plan -20%
Approval of deliverable 2 and 3-40%
Approval of deliverable 3-20%
Approval of deliverable 4 and 5-20%
Skills and Experience
The consultant must have the following skills, education and experience as a minimum:
Supervision and coordination
The consultant will report to and work under the supervision of Seascape Governance Officer.
Declaration of Undertaking in relation to RFP- Consultancy for the Design and Pilot of a Community Conservation Leadership Program
I, the undersigned, hereby confirm that I am an authorised representative of the following organisation:
Registered Name of Organisation (the “Organisation”): _______________________
Registered Address (incl. country): _______________________________________
Year of Registration:__________________________________________________
I hereby authorise IUCN to store and use the information included in the attached Proposal for the purpose of evaluating Proposals and selecting the Proposal IUCN deems the most favourable. I acknowledge that IUCN is required to retain the Proposal in its entirety for 10 years after then end of the resulting contract and make this available to internal and external auditors and donors as and when reasonably requested.
Where the Proposal includes Personal Data as defined by the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), I confirm that the Organisation has been authorised by each Data Subject to share this Data with IUCN for the purposes stated above.
I further confirm that the following statements are correct:
______________________________________________________
I, the undersigned, hereby confirm that I am self-employed and able to provide the service independent of any organisation or other legal entity.
Full name (as in passport):
Home or Office (please delete as appropriate) Address (incl. country):
I hereby authorise IUCN to store and use the information included in the attached Proposal for the purpose of evaluating Proposals and selecting the Proposal IUCN deems the most favourable, including Personal Data as defined by the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). I acknowledge that IUCN is required to retain my Proposal in its entirety for 10 years after then end of the resulting contract and make this available to internal and external auditors and donors as and when reasonably requested.
I further confirm that the following statements are correct:
______________________________________________________
Step 1: Acquire Tender Documents
Obtain the relevant tender documents.
Step 2: Review Requirements
Thoroughly read the tender specifications, terms, and conditions.
Step 3: Prepare Proposal
Prepare your proposal as guided, ensuring all the required information is included.
Step 4: Submission
Submit your completed proposal by the submission deadline via the email address tenders.mz@iucn.org
N.B: Please note that the email to be used exclusively for this consultancy is tenders.mz@iucn.org
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